Greetings All:
With a couple of lessons learned from my efforts along the Canyon Lakes of
Lubbock this past year, I have decided to chase and photograph critters in
Hockley County (the county just west of Lubbock County) this year. Again,
I am setting ambitious goals: 50 species of butterfly, 5 species of
amphibian, 10 species of reptile, 200 species of bird, and 10 species of
mammal with 90% of the species identifiably photographed.
Hockley County is roughly 100% agriculture or oilfield but there are some
very interesting hotspots, generally near the few towns and one city in the
county. Sundown has a park/golf course/water treatment facility complex
and an incredibly well-planted school/cemetery complex - both warrant eBird
hotspot status, in my opinion. Smyer has a well publicized feedlot playa
just west of town. Levelland has a tree-rich city park, a tree-rich
college campus with decent butterfly gardens, and at least two good
playa-centered parks. Road birding can also be surprisingly good in the
county with abandoned homesteads, woodlots, and a plethora of playas
readily viewed and photographed from roadside. There is a particularly
good stretch of brushland and woodlots available along FM 597 in the
northwest corner of the county - with any luck and any weather this should
be a real hotspot.
February was reasonably good to me. I made three fairly lengthy visits to
the county and racked up 7 species of butterfly, 0 species of amphibian, 1
species of reptile, 68 species of bird, and 6 species of mammal, bringing
me up to 8 species of butterfly, 0 species of amphibian, 1 species of
reptile, 73 species of bird, and 8 species of mammal in the county for
2016. This brings me 16%, 0%, 10%, 42%, and 80% of the way towards my
goals. Of the 90 species seen so far, I have identifiable photographs of
88, putting me at 98% for species photographed - closer than I ever got to
the 90% goal during my 2015 game. Taking shots, however long range, of
every critter seen, however common, seems to be a good strategy - and my
efforts to date have given me a pad for the difficult to photograph
swallows and migrant songbirds to come.
Without further ado, the list with *s for species that are new for the year
and (y)s for species photographed.
Common Checkered Skipper*(y)
Checkered White*(y)
Orange Sulphur*(y)
Dainty Sulphur*(y)
Reakirt's Blue*(y)
Variegated Fritillary*(y)
American Lady*(y)
Red-eared Slider*(y)
Snow Goose
Ross's Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal*(y)
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron*(y)
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk*(y)
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
American Coot
Sandhill Crane*(y)
Killdeer*(y)
Greater Yellowlegs
Ring-billed Gull*(y)
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared Dove
White-winged Dove*(y)
Mourning Dove
Greater Roadrunner(y)
Barn Owl*(y)
Burrowing Owl
Ladder-backed Woodpecker*(y)
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Loggerhead Shrike
Blue Jay
American Crow*(y)
Chihuahuan Raven
Horned Lark
Ruby-crowned Kinglet*(y)
American Robin(y)
Curve-billed Thrasher*(y)
Northern Mockingbird*(y)
European Starling
American Pipit(y)
Chestnut-collared Longspur*(y)
McCown's Longspur
Vesper Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Great-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
House Sparrow
Desert Cottontail(y)
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Southern Plains Woodrat*(y)
North American Deermouse (prairie form)*(y)
Coyote*(y)
White-tailed Deer*(y)
Anthony 'Fat Tony' Hewetson; Lubbock